Heartaches by the Number (Jenny Sidestory Part 1)

Shortly after Jenny left that morning

He’s really got to take better care of himself, Jenny thought as she ran through the fast-travel barriers, toward the mundane hospital and by extension the Apothecary. She stored her bass back in her bag as she skid to a stop at the edge of the barrier closest to the hospital, about a minute away from the back entrance.

Conveniently, that was also where the entrance to the Apothecary resided. That it could have been built that way intentionally slipped past her worried mind as she entered the magical hospital, though it looked anything but. If not for the subtle change in the air after walking in, anybody would have guessed that it was just another entrance to the hospital. Drab white walls, shiny tiled floors, and the same feeling of sickness and **** that emanated from any hospitals with an ICU wing. Speaking of which, that was her destination.

“Jenny Hudson for Shane Hudson, room fifteen of the ICU, I already know,” she commented offhandedly as she strode past the help desk, and the woman behind it looked up from a crossword for a moment, nodded, and went back to her crossword.

Jenny walked down the tiled hallways as she had a thousand times before, stopping at the entrance to the wing where her dad was being cared for. “All bags and other storage devices in the box, Jenny,” Lucas droned, the security guard who was ever-present whenever she visited her father. She placed her case into the box and watched as it was sent through, Lucas ushering her in shortly after.

She picked her case back up and strode halfway down the hall, stopping in front of his room. Big smile. Everything is great, she thought to herself as she pushed open the door and watched as a nurse finished feeding him breakfast. With his condition, there were a million less damaging ways to make sure he got the nutrients he needed, but he was resolute that he would keep eating real food. He sat up and winced at the same time as he saw her.

“Jenny!” His voice shone with the light southern accent that decades of living in cities couldn’t erase. He reached his arms out for a hug, the nurse giving him a scolding look as he did so. The ultimate irony of his condition was that physically his body was in tip-top shape. He could move just fine, but doing it too much would kill him. Something as simple as giving his own daughter a hug advanced the disease that was slowly killing him and caused him excruciating pain. He’d do it a million times.

The Last Journey Curse (a misnomer really, as it was actually a disease) had spread through his whole body before he realized it. By the time he was brought to the Apothecary, all they could do was keep him stable. Each day he was allowed a minimal amount of movement that they could reverse the damage of, and so while normally he would have died just from movement as insignificant as breathing in a week, he was able to hug his daughter every day and speak to her for around half an hour. Nothing about his condition was preferable, but he thought himself blessed.

In a moment, her “cool rocker chick” persona was broken, and she fell into his arms, “Daddy!” Every time she hugged him she felt like crying. Like it was too long since the last time (though it had at most been twenty-four hours).

After a moment he was **** to lay back, and the nurse took the tray out of the room and left, saying, “You have twenty-five minutes,” on her way out.

“I swear this hospital food is way worse than the disease,” he joked, and she pulled up a chair to his bedside. Jenny wasn’t amused, especially since she just learned she had five less minutes than usual. He broke under her stern stare. “It turns out that the disease has started to spread faster, and I’ll have less time,” he reached a hand up to stroke her cheek, and despite knowing that he shouldn’t do it, she was extremely glad he did. “I’ll be fine, baby-doll, a cure’s just around the corner. I can feel it.”

She gently put his arm back at his side, though she could tell how much he disliked being treated like glass. “I love you, Dad,” was her only response, as she didn’t share the same hope for a cure that he did. “I love you too, sweetie.” He decided to lighten the mood with what had been the highlight of his night.

“I saw your concert yesterday. You were amazing! Still performing those rock songs your mom used to sing.” His pride-filled smile erased most of her worries, and she decided she would not tell him about getting attacked yesterday. Little did she know, Keith already had.

“I hope you’re stayin’ in school,” he remarked, giving her the hard stare that only a parent could. “It starts in half an hour, doesn’t it?””

“I’ve got late arrival, Dad, I tell you that every time you ask,” she replied with mock exasperation, though she was worried about how much the disease was affecting his brain.

“Just makin’ sure,” was his simple reply as he stared off into space for a moment. “There’s a boy, isn’t there?” he asked after a few seconds.
“Well, I don’t really know about that…” Jenny began, **** to feel the disapproval that was sure to come. He knew nothing of her… looser nature since he had moved to the Apothecary.

“I get why you hadn’t told me… I just… If he makes you happy, he makes me happy. But if he doesn’t make you happy, I’ll kick his ass. Disease or not.” She had no doubt he still could, though it would probably kill him. She got her bass magic from her mother, but her dad was at one point the strongest guitarist in America, both in terms of skill and magic. A title that seemed hollow now.

It was her turn to stare off into space for a moment, something she would never normally do when she had precious little time left. “He’s nice. Nicest person I’ve met. He does dangerous stuff though. He overestimates himself.”

“Like when he saved you and Keith yesterday night?” Shane asked, and she was stunned for a moment. She hadn’t expected Keith to tell him about that, though Keith had probably guessed that she would never have told him. “I want to know what happens to you, baby,” Shane pleaded, and she couldn’t help but tell him everything she had been keeping from him.

“I’ve been attacked three times now. Every time he’s saved me from getting hurt… but he always gets hurt. He almost died last time.” She got all choked up as she said it, and he placed a hand on her arm.

“You’re going to get stronger. You haven’t even finished developing yet.”

“I’m twenty, Dad”

“Alright, well maybe you have,” he said with a sigh, but looked at her with newfound respect and adoration which belied his message. “You can’t keep living in fear of everything, Jenny. You can’t keep running away from things. I know with me in here and your mother god knows where it’s been hard, but living in fear, that’s, well,